Ulaanbaatar
Prime Minister reaffirms his stance Oyu Tolgoi project should be beneficial to Mongolia
Politics
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Prime Minister of Mongolia
L.Oyun-Erdene yesterday received Jakob Stausholm, Chief Executive of Rio Tinto Group and
other representatives in connection with the Oyu Tolgoi project talks.
At the meeting, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene
emphasized that the talks should achieve a result for ensuring the implementation of the parliamentary resolution No.92 dated November
21, 2019, on ‘Ensuring the interests of Mongolia in the exploitation of the
Oyu Tolgoi gold-copper mine’.
Warning that the Rio
Tinto company must take responsibility for issues concerning cost overruns
and schedule delays in the Oyu Tolgoi underground mine development and for financing essential additional costs, the Prime Minister noted that the debts accrued on the Mongolian share of 34 percent should be fully nullified, and the
condition should be created so that Mongolia gets dividend from the project.
Furthermore,
he noted that Rio Tinto must pay attention to terminating the Oyu Tolgoi
Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan, known as ‘Dubai Agreement’, which has been causing controversy since its establishment, in the near future and further creating the condition that the ‘Oyu Tolgoi’ project becomes mutually beneficial and ensure the interests of the Mongolian
people. He also expressed his position that it is proper that the project's benefits for Mongolia
should be calculated based on the Feasibility Study, carried out in 2010.
Chief executive of
Rio Tinto Jakob Stausholm expressed readiness to cooperate with Mongolia
as transparent and open as possible, putting emphasis on the operation in
Mongolia, and to upgrade the cooperation to a new level based on mutual trust.
During his terms as the Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene held an online
meeting with Jakob Stausholm, who had just been appointed CEO of Rio Tinto, on
December 2020. The Prime Minister reaffirmed his stance that the policy and
position adhered during the tenure of the head of the working group, established
by the government, have not changed.
The
working group in charge of implementing the parliamentary resolution No.92
dated November 21, 2019, is now chaired by Minister of Justice and Internal
Affairs Kh.Nyambaatar.
